Protective container

ABSTRACT

A protective cell configuration, container incorporating same, and blank for making same formed from foldable sheetlike material such as corrugated paperboard or the like wherein a conventional wrap-around carton has a bottom panel with sections and flaps at each end which are rolled inward before folding to form a generally tubular protective cell at each end of the carton. The sections include a geometric pattern of folds and cuts which cause the parts thereof to fold into an arrangement of angled planes thereby increasing the end crush characteristics of the carton.

United States Patent n91 Sieffert [451 July 15, 1975 PROTECTIVE CONTAINER [75] Inventor: William G. Sieffert, Joliet, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Hoerner Waldorf Corporation, Saint Paul Minn [22] Filed: Aug. 30, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 502,047

[52] 0.8. CI 206/424; 229/40; 229/34 HW; 229/14 C [Sl] lnt. Cl. 865d 5/02; 365d 85/30 [58] Field of Search 229/34 HW, 4O, 14 C; 206/424 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,664,573 5/1972 Partain et al. 206/424 3,666,l68 5/1972 Partain et al. 206/424 3320708 6/1974 Sieffert 206/424 3.820709 6/]974 Sieffert 206/424 Primary Examinerwilliam 1. Price Assistant ExaminerDouglas B. Farrow Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Jerry F. Best; Robert M.

Dunning [57] ABSTRACT A protective cell configuration, container incorporating same and blank for making same formed from foldable sheetlike material such as corrugated paperboard or the like wherein a conventional wrap-around carton has a bottom panel with sections and flaps at each end which are rolled inward before folding to form a generally tubular protective cell at each end of the carton. The sections include a geometric pattern of folds and cuts which cause the parts thereof to fold into an arrangement of angled planes thereby increasing the end crush characteristics of the carton.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PROTECTIVE CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to folding boxes of the wraparound style which have incorporated in the ends thereof folding protective cells.

2. Description of the Prior Art Past designs in this area have been directed primarily at book cartons, since the edges of books require protection during shipment. For simplicity and economy it is desired that a design incorporate a one-piece blank. yet a design of superior strength is also needed, particularily for larger, more costly books. In the past. there have been designs such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,399,821 and 3,668,168. in which some solid geometric formation was incorporated in a wrap-around end closure system. the angled portions thereof contacting the end ofthe book or other article. Some designs, such as those in U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,168 also have an overwrap utilizing end closure flaps from other panels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A simple one piece die-cut blank configuration for making a protective cell from foldable sheetlike material which features a section of cuts and score lines in a pattern which, when folded into a generally tube-like configuration assume an ordered, non-parallel angular planar relationship by virtue of the non-parallel hinge lines in the direction of the folding movement. Also a protective cell wall flap provides a solid surface against the article to be protected. This entire cell structure may be incorporated in one panel of a carton having overlapping end closure structures to enclose the cell structure and hold the article tightly in position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view ofa blank adapted to be erected into a carton embodying the invention disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the blank shown in FIG. I with the protective cell structure folded into position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cell structure shown in FIG. 2',

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of section of the structure shown in FIG. 3 taken along section line 44;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a completed carton such as folded from the blank shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The blanks and cartons shown in the drawings have particular application to shipping books or the like, but it should be understood that the protective cell structure may be used in other circumstances as well because of its superior strength.

As seen in FIG. I, a carton blank typically includes a generally rectangular sheet of foldable corrugated paperboard or other similar sheetlike material having opposed top, bottom, and lateral edges. A bottom panel 10, a top panel 12, a side panel 11 therebetween, and a second side panel 13 are defined by parallel fold lines arranged parallel to the lateral edges of the sheet and designated l4, l5 and 16. A fourth fold line 17 is used to attach a glue flap 18, which may be located at either lateral edge.

The top panel 12 has double hinged closure flaps of the wrap around type which overlap the ends of the carton to help seal it. These are shown as 20. 21, 22 and 23.

The ends of the bottom panel I0 are defined by the cut lines 30. These are on either side of the die-cut sections at each end of the bottom panel I0 which form the protective cell. For brevity each of the cells will be numbered the same.

A first hinge line 32 connects a first extension panel 33 to said bottom panel 10. said hinge line 32 arranged parallel to said ends 30 of said bottom panel 10. but spaced inwardly therefrom. The first extension panel 33 is only connected to the bottom panel I0 along this first hinge line 32. A second hinge line 35 attaches a second extension panel 36 to the first extension panel 33. the two hinge lines 32 and 35 being parallel.

Attached to the side of the two extension panels 33 and 36 are side flaps 40 and 4| which are connected to each other along a hinge line 42. Neither of these side flaps 40 or 41 is connected to the bottom panel 10, and since the extension flap 33 is spaced inwardly from the end 30 of the bottom panel 10. a portion ofthe side flap 40 attached thereto is also located inwardly of the end 30. The two side flaps 40 and 41 are not attached to the bottom panel I0 in order that they may be folded along with the extension panels 33 and 36 when they are rolled inwardly.

A protective cell wall flap 50 is attached along a third hinge line SI parallel to hinge lines 32 and 35. and serves as a full cushion member for the end of the book or whatever is to be placed in the carton. Attached to the side of the protective cell wall flap 50 is a cell wall wing flap 55 which serves as an extension of the protective cell wall flap 50 when in final folded position. and, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, is supported from the back by the edge of the second side flap 4I. This edge strength alignment gives much better crushing resistance to the end cell design.

In setting up the cushioning ends of the carton the panel 33 is folded upwardly along the fold line 32 into outwardly inclined position from the bottom panel 10, extending inwardly from the fold line 35. The cell wall flap is folded downwardly along the fold line 51, the free end of this flap engaging the bottom panel It) at its juncture with the extension flap 33, or along the fold line 32. This forms a triangular reinforcement between the top and bottom panels, as shown in FIG. 4.

During this folding operation, the edges 45 of the side flaps 41 fold into vertically spaced relation above the ends of the bottom panel 10 formed by the cut lines 30, thereby abutting the inner surface of the end flaps 22 of the top wall 12 when the wrapper is completed. The opposite edges 46 of the side flaps engage the outer surface wing flaps S5. The side flaps 41 thus extend between the wing flaps 5S and end flaps 22 of the finished folder, holding the flap structure from collapsing inwardly.

The exact configuration of the end cell design may be varied as by splitting the design as shown and putting the flaps in abutting relationship, or by using flaps on one side only to create one-half the cell shown in the drawings. It is understood that changes in the proportioning will alter the geometric shape of the cell parts without affecting their cooperative interaction.

In accordance with the Patent Statutes. I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in PROTECTIVE CONTAINER; and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

I. In a carton blank adapted to be folded from paperboard or similar material into a book carton having protective cells at each end thereof, said carton including bottom and top panels, side panels arranged with said bottom and top panels adapted to be formed into a generally rectangular tube-like configuration, overlapping end closure flaps attached to the ends of said top panel to enclose said ends and said protective cells. the improvement therein comprising:

a first extension panel hingedly connected to one end of said bottom panel along a first hinge line spaced inwardly from said end of said panel;

a second extension panel hingedly connected along a second hinge parallel to said first hinge line;

first and second side flaps hingedly connected along one side of said first and second extension panels respectively said first and second side flaps also being hingedly connected to one another, said first side flap arranged with a portion thereof inwardly of said end of said bottom panel;

a protective cell wall flap hingedly attached along a third hinge line parallel to said first and second hinge lines; and

a cell wall wing flap hingedly attached to one side of said protective cell wall flap.

2. In a carton adapted to be folded from paperboard or similar material for shipping books or the like having a rectangular, tube-like arrangement of top, bottom and side panels, said top panel having overlapping end closure flaps. an improved protective end cell formed at the ends of said bottom panel, comprising:

a first extension panel hingedly connected to one end of said bottom panel along a first hinge line spaced inwardly from said end of said panel;

a second extension panel hingedly connected along a second hinge parallel to said first hinge line;

first and second side flaps hingedly connected along one side of said first and second extension panels respectively said first and second side flaps also being hingedly connected to one another, said first side flap arranged with a portion thereof inwardly of said end of said bottom panel;

a protective cell wall flap hingedly attached along a third hinge line parallel to said first and second hinge lines; and

a cell wall wing flap hingedly attached to one side of said protective cell wall flap;

said protective cell wall flap foldable inwardly into edge-abutting relationship with said first hinge line, said first and second extension panels and said protective cell wall flap forming an essentially triangular cross section tube with said first and second side flaps forming a reinforcing angle to provide support to the rear side of said cell wall wing flap. 

1. In a carton blank adapted to be folded from paperboard or similar material into a book carton having protective cells at each end thereof, said carton including bottom and top panels, side panels arranged with said bottom and top panels adapted to be formed into a generally rectangular tube-like configuration, overlapping end closure flaps attached to the ends of said top panel to enclose said ends and said protective cells, the improvement therein comprising: a first extension panel hingedly connected to one end of said bottom panel along a first hinge line spaced inwardly from said end of said panel; a second extension panel hingedly connected along a second hinge parallel to said first hinge line; first and second side flaps hingedly connected along one side of said first and second extension panels respectively said first and second side flaps also being hingedly connected to one another, said first side flap arranged with a portion thereof inwardly of said end of said bottom panel; a protective cell wall flap hingedly attached along a third hinge line parallel to said first and second hinge lines; and a cell wall wing flap hingedly attached to one side of said protective cell wall flap.
 2. In a carton adapted to be folded from paperboard or similar material for shipping books or the like having a rectangular, tube-like arrangement of top, bottom and side panels, said top panel having overlapping end closure flaps, an improved protective end cell formed at the ends of said bottom panel, comprising: a first extension panel hingedly connected to one end of said bottom panel along a first hinge line spaced inwardly from said end of said panel; a second extension panel hingedly connected along a second hinge parallel to said first hinge line; first and second side flaps hingedly connected along one side of said first and second extension panels respectively said first and second side flaps also being hingedly connected to one another, said first side flap arranged with a portion thereof inwardly of said end of said bottom panel; a protective cell wall flap hingedly attached along a third hinge line parallel to said first and second hinge lines; and a cell wall wing flap hingedly attached to one side of said protective cell wall flap; said protective cell wall flap foldable inwardly into edge-abutting relationship with said first hinge line, said first and second extension panels and said protective cell wall flap forming an essentially triangular cross section tube with said first and second side flaps forming a reinforcing angle to provide support to the rear side of said cell wall wing flap. 